Alumni and students host feast for arts

Hospitality+consultant+and+former+Pullman+resident+Greg+Nilan+chats+with+ASWSU+Vice+President+Amanda+Spalding+and+Student+Regent+Jake+Bredstrand+during+2011+Feast+of+the+Arts+at+the+WSU+Museum+of+Art.

Hospitality consultant and former Pullman resident Greg Nilan chats with ASWSU Vice President Amanda Spalding and Student Regent Jake Bredstrand during 2011 Feast of the Arts at the WSU Museum of Art.

Smoked quail, butternut squash puree, cured salmon, and wine will set the table tonight for the fourth Feast of the Arts event of the semester.                                                           

The sold-out dinner is a partnership between the WSU Alumni Association and School of Hospitality Business Management.

Chef Jamie Callison and his students prepare a five-course meal for each feast, paired with wines from Wine-By-Cougars wineries, said Katie Savage, the Alumni Association special events coordinator.

Wine-By-Cougars, formed in 2006, is a club that aims to support WSU alumni wineries and students in the Wine Management program.

Chateau Ste. Michelle, based in Woodinville, is the featured winery at the Dad’s Weekend feast.

Guests begin their evening at 6 p.m. in the gallery of the Museum of Art for a reception with appetizers and wine, Savage said.

Then, the Cougar Marching Band leads the guests to the dining center in the Marriott Foundation Hospitality Teaching Center in Todd Hall.

“The drummer comes in and kind of rallies everyone up,” she said.

The gourmet dinner begins at 7 p.m. with a menu specifically designed to showcase the chosen wine, said Kate Stewart, a senior hospitality business management major.

Tonight, Stewart will work a back of house lead in the kitchen. Stewart, who is in her third of working for WSU Hospitality Catering Services, said Feast of the Arts is one of her favorite events to cater.

“It’s a great time. True Cougs are the ones that really get into it,” she said.

Student Hospitality Catering employees are paid for their work with the feast, said event coordinator Samantha Schwartz, a senior hospitality business management major.

However, students currently enrolled in the cooking course can volunteer as a way of fulfilling a class requirement.

Being involved with Feast of the Arts gives students “the opportunity to work with Chef Jamie Callison and put their own spin on the meal,” Schwartz said, and the extra help can certainly come in handy.

“We’re doing Brewfest (tonight) as well, and we’re doing another event, so it’s all hands on deck,” Schwartz said.

Those who attend Feast of the Arts love that the students help out, Stewart said, and the experience brings people together.

“Everyone’s friends by the end of the night,” she said. “That ‘Go Cougs’ attitude, that community, really make this event thrive.”

Feast of the Arts is always held in conjunction with a home football game and serves about 80 guests.

Tickets for Alumni Association members cost $105. Tickets for non-members cost $115.

The final Feast of the Arts of the year will be held next Friday, featuring wine from Gordon Estate.